Date:	Friday 7 June 1940
Time:	18:10
Type:	Fairey Battle Mk I
Owner/operator:	12 Sqn RAF
Registration:	P2162
MSN:
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 3 / Occupants: 3
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Bergicourt, 6 km NW of Poix-de-Picardie -   France
Phase:	Combat
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	Echemines, France
Destination airport:

Narrative:
Fairey Battle Mk.I P2162 (PH-Q) 12 Squadron, RAF: Written off (destroyed) when lost (Failed To Return) for combat operations over France. All three crew killed. According to the official Air Ministry file into the incident (File AIR 81/821): "Battle P2162 crashed near Bergicourt, France, 7 June 1940. Sergeant F J Field, Sergeant H C C Bevan and Leading Aircraftman J F W Mackrell: report of deaths"

Airborne 17:28 from Echemines to attack a Panzer tank column in the area of Poix-de-Picardie. Shot down in flames in the target area by Bf 109s. It is possible that Battle P2162 was the aircraft claimed as shot down by Fw. Heinzeller or Uffz Freistag. The battle crashed in the area of St. Valery at 18:10 hours. All three crew killed

Crew of Battle P2162:
Sergeant (Pilot) Frederick James Field, RAF 535052, age 24, killed in action 07/06/1940
Sergeant (Observer) Herbert Cyril Claude Bevan, RAF 563098, age 26, killed in action 07/06/1940
Sergeant (Wireless Op./Air Gunner) John Frederick Walter MacKrell, RAFVR 751949, killed in action 07/06/1940,

All three crew fatalities were buried at St. Valery-en-Caux Franco-British Cemetery, Seine-Maritime, France

1. Royal Air Force Aircraft P1000-P9999 (James J Halley, Air Britain, 1978)
2. The Battle File (Sidney Shail, Air Britain,1997 p 164)
3. National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR 81/821: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C14502544
4. http://www.epibreren.com/ww2/raf/12_squadron.html#0706
5. http://francecrashes39-45.net/page_fiche_av.php?id=1939
6. http://www.inmemories.com/Cemeteries/stvaleryencaux.htm
7. http://aircrewremembered.com/field-frederick.html
8. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2095677/field,-frederick-james/
9. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2095636/bevan,-herbert-cyril-claude/
10. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2095725/mackrell,-john-frederick-walter/
11. http://www.oldhaltonians.co.uk/pages/rememb/ROH/19.htm
12. http://undyingmemory.net/Soham%20V%20Coll/field-frederick.html
13. http://39-45.auzeau.fr/france/76-seine-maritime/76-saint-valery-en-caux/

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
17-Sep-2019 18:35	Dr. John Smith	Added
17-Sep-2019 19:37	Nepa	Updated [Operator, Operator]